Waikato/Bay of Plenty skaters make podium at Oceania Artistic Roller Skating Championships

Waikato/BOP skaters Dianne Gunson (left), Rosa Hook, Milah van Niekerk, Maegan Fraser, Hunter Jenkins and Tanya Podjursky won medals at the Oceania Artistic Roller Skating Champs. Photo / Supplied

Six Waikato/Bay of Plenty artistic roller skating athletes competed at the Oceania Artistic Roller Skating Championships - and they all came away with medals.

The championships, held in Rotorua from September 19 to 22, attracted 33 New Zealand team members, 37 from Australia, one from Japan and one from the United Kingdom.

Athletes from Waikato/BOP were Tanya Podjursky (Hamilton Roller Skating Club), Dianne Gunson (Tokoroa Roller Skating Club) and Maegan Fraser, Rosa Hook, Hunta Jenkins and Milah van Niekerk (Rotorua Roller Skating Club).

The women were selected to represent New Zealand after producing impressive performances at the New Zealand Artistic Roller Skating Championships in Whanganui in July.

Gunson produced an outstanding performance to win gold in the advanced masters figures. Her return to competitive skating after 15 years showed she had not lost her previous talent. She represented New Zealand at junior and senior world level in her favoured discipline of figures.

Rotorua skaters Maegan Fraser, Rosa Hook, Hunta Jenkins and Milah van Niekerk produced a credible team performance to win gold in the quartets event. Their team performance was titled "Battle Fought From Home". The quartets is a small show skate team event, and "Battle Fought From Home" was a tribute to the wives and daughters left behind during WWII.

It was the first time the young women from Rotorua had performed at an International level. They appear destined to compete at international level, not only in a team situation, but also as individuals.

Podjursky won bronze in the masters ladies figures. She also finished fifth in the masters solo dance. It was her first time as a New Zealand representative.

The Waikato/BOP region was also represented at the championships in the officials capacity: Peter Willy (Tokoroa) was one of the New Zealand Judges, Judith Lowes (Tauranga) was chief scorer, and Ann Deihl (Tokoroa) and Yvonne Lambert-Smith (Hamilton) were event manager.